Levi Strauss, a young immigrant from Germany, arrived in San Francisco in 1850. California was in the middle of the Gold Rush. Thousands of men were coming to California to dig for gold. And Strauss came to sell canvas to these gold miners. Canvas is a heavy fabric. So Strauss thought the miners could use the canvas for tents.

One day Strauss heard a miner complain that he couldn’t find clothes strong enough for the work he was doing. Strauss got an idea. He quickly took some of his canvas and made it into pants. These pants were what the miners needed. In one day Strauss sold all the pants he had made.

Strauss wanted to improve his pants. He wanted to make them even better. He bought a fabric that was softer than canvas but just as strong. This fabric came from Nimes, a city in France, and was called serge de Nimes. The miners like this fabric. They called it “denim” from (de Nimes) and bought even more pants from Strauss.

However, denim had no color. Because of this the denim pants did not look very interesting, and they got dirty easily. To solve these problems, Strauss dyed the denim blue.

Strauss continued to improve his jeans. Today the company he started is known around the world. And Jeans are considered not just practical but very fashionable as well.

True or False?

1. Levi Strauss was the first person to make blue jeans.  

2. Blue jeans got dirty easily.                                                                

3. Strauss made his first jeans from a fabric called serge de Nimes.        

4. Nimes is a city in France.                                                                     

      Questions

5. What could be the best title of the passage

 A. A Young Immigrant From Germany     B. The History of Blue Jean

 C. Serge de Nimes                                   D. The Gold Rush

6. Why did Levi Strauss come to California?

 A. to dig for gold      B. to sell pants      C. to buy denim       D. to sell canvas

Levi Strauss a young immigrant from Germany ,arrived in san francisco in 1850 .California was in the middle of the Gold Rush, thousands of men were coming to California to dig for gold and  Levi Strauss came to sell canvas to these gold miners . Canvas is a heavy fabric. So Levi Strauss thought the miners could use the canvas for tents.

      One day Strauss heard a miner complain that he couldn´t find clothes strong enough for the work he was doing Strauss got an idea he quickly took some of his canvas and made it into pants these pants were what the miners needed . In one day Strauss sold all the pants he had made.
Strauss wanted to improve his pants he wanted to make them even better .He bought a fabric that was softer than canvas but just as strong. This fabric came from Nimes , a city in France and was called serge de Nimes .The miners liked this fabric they called it "denim" (from de Nimes) and bought even more pants from Strauss.
      However denim had no color because of this the denim pants did not look very interesting and they got dirty easily .To solve these problems Strauss made the denim blue.
    Strauss continued to improve his jeans .Today the company he started is known around the world and jeans are considered not just practical but very fashionable as well.

      A. Choose true or false

1. Levi Strauss came to Germany in 1850.                                                                    

2. Levi Strauss came to import  canvas .                                                                      

3. Strauss got the denim from France.                                                                          

4. Strauss dyed the denim blue.                                                                                     

      B. Choose the most suitable item.

5. What does the word” to improve” in line 8 mean?

      A. to make better        B. to take care                    C. to find more                  D. to look after

6. People like jeans because they are__________ .

      A. practical                  B. fashionable                    C. colorful                          D. A and B

B. Jeans appeared over 150 years ago during the Gold Rush in California. At that time, a lot of people rushed to newly discovered goldfields to search for gold. At first, the gold rush miners needed strong clothes for their physical work and jeans could meet their demand because they were made from denim, a strong fabric. In 1960s, many university and college students wore jeans because they did not want to follow the traditional attitudes to dress. Jeans became more and more popular. Various styles of jeans were made to match the 1960s’ fashions. In spite of their ups and downs, jeans have never been out of fashion. Nowadays jeans can be seen everywhere in the world. People of all ages wear jeans because they are comfortable. Jeans are chosen to wear not only as work or casual wear. They are also worn even on special occasions.

1. Did jeans appear 150 years ago?

2. Where did jeans first appear?

3. What were jeans made from?

4. Why did the gold rush miners wear jeans?

5. When did many students wear jeans?

I.       Read the following passage and choose the item (a, b, c, or d) that best answers each of the questions about it.

Levi Strauss, a young immigrant from Germany, arrived in San Francisco in 1850. California was in the middle of the Gold Rush. Thousands of men were coming to California to dig for gold. And Strauss came to sell canvas to these gold miners. Canvas is a heavy fabric. So Strauss thought the miners could use the canvas for tents.

One day Strauss heard a miner complain that he couldn't find clothes strong enough for the work he was doing. Strauss got an idea. He quickly took some of his canvas and made it into pants. These pants were what the miners needed. In one day Strauss sold all the pants he had made.

Strauss wanted to improve his pants. He wanted to make them even better. He bought a fabric that was softer than canvas but just as strong. This fabric came from Nimes, a city in France, and was called serge de Nimes. The miners liked this fabric. They called it "denim" (from de Nimes) and bought even more pants from Strauss.

However, denim had no color. Because of this the denim pants did not look very interesting, and they got dirty easily. To solve these problems, Strauss dyed the denim blue.

Strauss continued to improve his jeans. Today, the company he started is known around the world. And jeans are considered not just practical but very fashionable as well.

26. What could be the best title of the passage?  

      a. A Young Immigrant From Germany                  b. The History of Blue Jeans

      c. Serge de Nimes                                                   d. The Gold Rush

27. According to the writer, why did Levi Strauss come to California?

      a. He came to California to dig for gold.               b. He came to California to sell pants.

      c. He came to California to buy denim.                 d. He came to California to sell canvas.

28. Blue jeans _____.

      a. did not look very interesting                               b. are considered not practical

      c. got dirty easily                                                    d. are considered good for many uses

29. What is the meaning of the word “immigrant” in the first paragraph?

      a. person who is good in business                          b. person who buys and sells things

      c. person who moves to another country               d. person who works in a mine

30. Which of the following is not true?

      a. Levi Strauss was the first person to make blue jeans.

      b. Strauss made his first jeans from a fabric called serge de Nimes.

      c. The first jeans were very strong.

      d. Nimes is a city in France.

Mark the letter A, B C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

Many California mining towns prospered until the gold ran out and prospectors moved on to new areas, leaving boom towns to become ghost towns.

A. declined

B. assembled

C. employed

D. thrived

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of following questions.

Many California mining towns prospered until the gold ran out and prospectors moved on to new areas, leaving boom towns to become ghost towns.

A. declined 

B. assembled          

C. employed          

D. thrived

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to each of the following questions.

California attracted people from many countries when gold was discovered in I848.

A. Discovered in 1848, gold was attractive to people in Cali font ia.

B. Discovered in California in 1848, gold attracted people from many countries there. 

C. Gold in California was discovered in 1848 after many people came here. 

D. When people are attracted to California, they discovered gold in 1848.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to each of the following questions.

California attracted people from many countries when gold was discovered in 1848

A. Discovered in 1848, gold was attractive to people in California

B. Discovered in California in 1848, gold attracted people from many countries there

C. Gold in California was discovered in 1848 after many people came here

D. When people are attracted to California, they discovered gold in 1848